In December of 2015, I went to my pre-scheduled allergist appointment. I have several allergies and asthma. My allergist took one look at me and said, "You're sick." I could only laugh and said that I wasn't. She gave me the normal breathing tests and asked me to get some chest x-rays done because I wasn't blowing my normal 95-100%. The chest x-rays came back stating that I had round pneumonia.
After 2 weeks and 3 antibiotics, she sent me for a second set of x-rays. It was still there. She referred me to a pulmonologist that sent me for a CT scan and lung function tests. The CT turned into a PET scan, a thoracic biopsy, an Oncologist and a Radiation Oncologist. I have been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. I have it in both lungs, and the lymph nodes around my neck, and nodes down the center of my chest.
There is no surgery for this. I'm now taking my second of four rounds of chemo and today took my 20th radiation treatment out of 39. I've had a few bad days from treatments, but if in the end they can tell me it's in remission, it will be worth it. I just wish that it hadn't taken 3 months to get an answer and get treatments started. I'm 59 and unfortunately have been a smoker since I was a young teen. I would also like to mention that besides being fatigued from the treatments I'm receiving, I still don't feel like there's really anything wrong with me, which in my opinion is quite odd since my prognosis isn't very good.
